More than 1,000 police officers and personnel have been posted across the district to protect vaccination workers as the polio campaign in Rawalpindi runs for four days, aiming to reach about 990,000 children under five with oral drops.
A police spokesperson said Rawalpindi Police finalised a detailed security plan for the drive, which began on Monday. Cover has been assigned to 686 vaccination teams and 352 transit points. Station mobile vans, Elite Squad staff and Dolphin Force units are also patrolling sensitive spots, crowded neighbourhoods and transport hubs in their areas.
How the security plan works
Police said officers will stay on duty for the full campaign so vaccinators can move safely and the immunisation work is not interrupted. Mobile teams are going door to door in Rawalpindi so every eligible child can get the drops. A similar drive has started in neighbouring Murree.
The local effort is part of a wider Punjab push. On Monday, the anti-polio drive opened in Rawalpindi and 12 other districts, with a provincial target of more than 9.3 million children under five. More than 77,000 healthcare workers and polio staff have been fielded across Punjab to give oral vaccine and limit the spread of the disease, which can cause lifelong paralysis.
Targets across Punjab
Khalid Pervez, head of the Punjab Anti-Polio Programme, said Lahore’s campaign will last seven days and cover more than 2.28 million children, while the remaining 12 districts are scheduled for four days. More than one million children in Multan and over 1.1 million in Rahim Yar Khan are also due for oral polio drops.
He asked parents to vaccinate their children in every round, whatever doses they had already received, saying repeated immunisation is needed for protection. “Polio is an incurable disease, but timely and repeated vaccination is the only way to protect children from lifelong disability,” he said. He also appealed to community leaders and religious scholars to promote vaccination and asked parents to cooperate with field teams, adding that resources were being mobilised to reach every targeted child in Punjab.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- Monday: Four-day polio campaign in Rawalpindi begins, with about 990,000 children under five targeted.
- Monday: Over 1,000 police personnel deployed; security set for 686 teams and 352 transit points.
- Monday: Province-wide drive opens in Rawalpindi and 12 other Punjab districts, aiming at more than 9.3 million children under five.
- Monday: Parallel vaccination work starts in Murree; Lahore’s seven-day round, covering more than 2.28 million children, is under way alongside four-day drives elsewhere.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Rawalpindi mein char din ki polio muhim shuru ho chuki hai. Police ne 1,000 se zyada afraad teams ke saath rakhe hain taake drop dene wale mehfooz rahein. Paanch saal se kam umar ke qarib 990,000 bachon ko ye drops dene ka plan hai. Ghar walon ko chahiye ke har muhim mein bachon ko drops dilwayein, pehle doses mil chuke hon to bhi.
